Winnipeg singer/ songwriter Romi Mayes gets better and better every time I see her. I’ve been following her career for years and seen her evolve from solo singer/songwriter folkster to full fledged rocker chick. Especially now she has the Perpetrators’ guitarist Jason Nowicki in her band who adds massive dose of the blues to Mayes’ music

 I’ve never seen them play a tighter set than their Aug. 6 show at the Slice.
 Two fifths of the Skilletlikkers, George Arsene and Pat MacNamara, opened the set with several upbeat acoustic originals and choice covers of Fred Eaglesmith’s “Freight Train,” and  the D-Rangers’s “Trois Rivieres.”

Mayes kicked thing into high gear right from the get-go with my favourite “The Other Dame” and then a couple tracks from her most recent 2008 CD “Achin’ in Yer Bones” including a highlight “Tire Marks.”
Mayes owned the stage as  per usual, but Nowicki easily stepped up with some searing Hound Dog Taylor style dirty blues solos, and her rhythm section played as tight as a drum skin.

I loved her “aggressive sex song” “Make You Love Me and that just was one of many highlights which had a decent sized crowd of about 50-60 people moving and grooving to Mayes’ roots-rock groove.
Somehow her voice is reminiscent of country stars  like Miranda Lambert, but comes across as a lot more authentic when she sings of shooting whiskey shots and smoking more than she drinks, living on the road and falling in and out of love.

She ended her first set with an amped up version of  “ Styx and BTO,”  (which is a bluegrass song on her debut CD) by request of George Arsene.
 They came back after the break for a more laid back blues flavoured set which featured a lot of new music and ended their set with “Sweet Something Steady,” before being called back for an encore of “Bible.”

She had a decent sized Lethbridge crowd for once, though she usually plays mid week rather than a weekend. But a monster talent like Romi Mayes deserves a big, appreciative audience like the one at the Slice, Aug. 6.